


Until the End

by howsthismylife



Category: Captain America (Movies), Stucky - Fandom
Genre: Depictions of Death, Gen, Gore, Minor Character Death, Rotating POV, Slow Build, Zombie Apocalypse, more gore, pre-serum steve, some fluff here and there, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-12
Updated: 2014-06-02
Packaged: 2018-01-24 11:44:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1603943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/howsthismylife/pseuds/howsthismylife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world was in chaos and resources were going scarce, and Bucky and Natasha was raiding a Hospital for medical supplies.<br/>They meet Steve Rogers who may be humanity's last hope in surviving.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1: Bucky

**Author's Note:**

> I just couldn't resist myself not to write a zombie apocalypse Stucky AU.  
> This is not beta read so sorry for the errors.  
> I'm not really good at writing so...

Bucky cocked the shotgun he was gripping, holding his breath as he stealthily walked in the darkness of the hospital hall. His heart was beating fast on his chest that he could practically hear it. Every step was a cautious one. One mistake and it could dictate his future—their future. Natasha tapped him by the shoulders. He looked back at her, eyes wide open, making her face against the covering darkness. Their only light was the full moon which was enough help for them to search the hospital. Once could consider them to be lucky by the way things had been going but Bucky didn’t believe in luck anymore.

           Nat signed to her right and they pointed their guns toward the open door of the hospital’s pharmacy. Bucky nodded and the two of them carefully moved. Their shoes were slippery enough that they don’t make any noise as they made their way toward the room. They would do anything just to avoid making the slightest noise.

           Once inside they silently rummaged through containers and cupboards, using their small flashlights as their guide, searching for all the medicines they could use: antiseptics, anesthetics, syringes, and antibiotics, anything that could help them survive and treat infected wounds.

           Both of them were breathing hard, wary of their surroundings. Bucky’s heart was still pounding hard out of his chest. When they both got what they needed—what they could carry, they make a haste to get out. He swung the backpack on his shoulders but Bucky wasn’t careful enough that he knocked off an empty bottle to the ground. It was a moment of horror for both of them when the clanking sound of the glass against the tiled floor echoed through the whole building.

           Natasha inhaled deeply when they first heard it. It was a low groan and by the sound of it they think it’s coming from the end of the hall.

           “Go! Go!” Bucky hissed, clutching the backpack and shotgun for dear life.

           They both run despite how slippery their shoes were, although it kind of helped because it made less sound, but the clanking of bottles from their bags attracted enough attention already.

           Soon, Bucky saw bodies slowly making their way toward them. Bodies that were once full of life, breathing, eating, sleeping, humans. Now these bodies were filled with infected blood and rotting guts wanting to eat their living flesh and turn them into one of them.

           They turn to their left. One more before they reach the stairs that will lead them to the underground parking lot where their car was waiting. Natasha pulled one of her knives and threw it directly into one of the zombie’s head. Zombies. Bucky scoffed. Never in a million years would he have thought that this would ever happen to him.

           Finally they’ve reached the stairs but there were a couple of reanimated bodies mindlessly groaning and moaning at them. They started shooting at the zombies as they hurry to get to their car. Once they started shooting they knew they had to get out as fast as possible. These dead things were somehow attracted to sound as predicted.

           Bucky refused it was luck when they both reached their car successfully. He believed in odds, probability and possibilities, and the odds of them getting to their car unscratched or even turned was obviously greater than the probability of them being zombie food.

           “That was a close one,” Bucky breathed. He placed their bags and his shotgun in the backseat, pulled out his gun and watched the zombies run after them as they drive off back to their hideout.

           “Well it was your fault to begin with,” Nat said. There was no weight in her words so Bucky just rolled his eyes at her.

           Nat chuckled softly. Bucky was constantly checking the side mirrors in case some rotting body decided it was worth following and feasting on their brains. Oddly for them, there were none.

           They relaxed a bit. Natasha had always been a better driver than him so he always lets her take the wheel. The digital clock reads 4:05 am. Bucky was tired and he could see that Nat was, too. “I could drive if you want to,” he offered.

           “Nah,” Nat smirked at him, “You care too much,”

           “You look tired,”

           “We both are,” She said, “Right now, caring won’t do you any good.”

           He knew what she was talking about. That due to the circumstances the world was in caring would be a liability. Natasha knew this well when she had to shoot her boyfriend Clint in the head after he got turned. Bucky knew that if they didn’t make it, if they weren’t careful enough, that they’d have to shoot one another if the time came.

           Bucky felt silent after that. A couple of minutes more until they reached their hideout. He felt sleepy but he fought the heaviness of his eyelids and focused on the road and their surroundings.

           “1 o’clock,” Natasha said.

           Bucky turned to look. There were a couple of zombies running but they hadn’t noticed their car so they’re clear.

           “Wait,” He held his hand toward Nat and opened his window. “They’re chasing someone,” he said.

           They could see the guy waving frantically at them as he ran away from the flesh eating zombies. The car slowed down a bit and Natasha said, “Buck, can you kill those dead shits from here? We’ll save the guy after.”

           Bucky looked at her and said, “I thought you didn’t care that much?”

           “Yeah, but it doesn’t mean we can’t save him,”

           The point was made and Bucky smirked at her. Natasha maybe exteriorly metaphorically cold but she’s still human. He focused on the zombies, his current target, and started shooting. Between the two of them, Bucky was a better shooter so he was confident that he’d eliminate the zombies before they reached the guy and started eating him.

           When the last zombie fell to the ground, Natasha careened toward the guy who was panting. Bucky opened the backseat, checked the guy for some wounds or bite that could turn him into one of them. When the guy was clean they let him in.

           “The name’s Steve,” The guy—Steve said between breaths, “Thanks for saving me.”

           Bucky and Natasha looked at each other. “Nice to meet you Steve,” Bucky said, and Steve smiled.


	2. Chapter 2: Steve

Before the zombie apocalypse struck, Steve was a senior in fine arts, an about-to-graduate-senior-in-fine-arts. He did a great job on his internship at a local animation studio and was offered a regular job at the firm when the outbreak had gone loose. Steve could finally help his roommate pay all the bills and rent to the apartment they’re sharing, then those rotting flesh-eating reanimated corpses started spreading the viruses.

            It had been chaotic. He witnessed humans eating other humans and it was disgusting. When the government had issued an evacuation, Steve didn’t know what to do. There were probably thousands of them in the city and the military could only evacuate hundreds. He was positive that he was going to be part of the zombie diet.

            Steve was asthmatic. He was skinny and had a lot of medical problems in his pocket but that didn’t stop him from surviving. He had been separated with his friend, Sam, and wasn’t sure if he was still alive. It had been a couple of weeks after the apocalypse started and so far, Steve had managed to stay alive by hiding in a for sale house in the subdivision. It was abandoned during the evacuation and most of the zombies were in the city.

            He had been raiding other houses for food and water, and medicine. Steve was doing well if he say so himself. But he knew he couldn’t stay in the area for long. He had to find other survivors.

            That’s what led him to flee his hideout and go to the city. Steve had to take a stopover for food. He brought his regular backpack, the only thing he could carry, and it had a couple of candy bar and a liter of water. Food was getting scarce so he decided to stop by the convenient store—the one nearby the city hospital. It was still dark, nearing 3:30 in the morning, and his only guide was the moonlight.

            The thing that Steve discovered was that these ‘things’ cannot see, they can only hear and smell and if you don’t make much noise and disguise your humanly smell, you’re good to go.

            Steve was an expert at being invisible. Had been doing it since he was a kid and these zombies weren’t so much different with the kids who used to bully him, the only difference was that the zombies prefer to eat you.

            He was careful with his movement. Steve left his bag on a table and began to look for edible food. The light of the store was off but thanks to the full moon Steve could still see perfectly. He had gathered a couple of bread and some chips, and a water bottle when he accidentally kicked a glass bottle. The bottle clanked all the way out of the door and into the highway. Steve winced.

            He was fucked.

            He heard the first groan seconds after his mistake and Steve decided to make a run for it. He dropped all the food he was carrying and left his backpack on the table. Steve saw a couple of zombies already walking toward his direction—probably smelled his sweat. Every step he made was an echo in the void of the city and Steve was fucked. He knew he could only run for a couple of minutes before his asthma takes in.

            Steve decided to run into the bushes. There were 6 or 8 of them who was persistently following him and his lungs were already burning. He decided to go for the main road hoping to take refuge in a car, lock it up, and hope for the zombies to go away.

            He coughed and panted but he could see the road. Steve could also see a running black SUV. He waved at the car hoping the passengers would notice him. They did. The car slowed down and the window rolled down and then there were gunshots. Steve pushed himself into running a little bit longer, ignoring the burning sensation of his lungs, and the heavy heaving of his chest.

            Suddenly the gunshots were over and Steve could no longer hear groaning. He halted and looked at his back. The zombies were dead. The zombies were dead and he was alive! He chuckled and laughed softly. Steve coughed; he panted and calmed himself down. The car was driving toward him and when the door to the passenger seat opened, Steve felt saved.


	3. Chapter 3: Steve

Steve immediately fell asleep once he thanked and introduced himself to his saviors. One was a redhead named Natasha and the other one was a guy named Bucky. Both of them had looked real exhausted and Steve understood that. When they’ve reached the hideout where a couple of survivors were taking refuge in, Steve felt relieved that there were other people who managed to survived in the apocalypse.

            “We’re here,” Steve met eyes with Natasha from the mirror. She was ginning at him despite on how she looked tired.

            Their hideout was in an underground parking lot of an abandoned building away from the city. Steve noticed there weren’t any zombies in the area.

            “We’ve barricaded the perimeter and most of the zombies were at the city so this place is the safest right now,” Bucky had explained. They got out of the car and Steve was faced with a handful of people looking wary and hopeful at the same time.

            “You made it,” A guy approached Natasha and helped her with the bag. He looked over at Steve and said, “And you’ve brought someone.”

            “Hi,” Steve managed to wave weakly.

            “His name’s Steve,” Bucky said as they started walking, “Saw him running from those creeps, so.”

            “The name’s Bruce by the way,” The guy—Bruce said. He smiled at Steve and he smiled back.

            “Nice to meet you,”

            “We’ve gotta hurry,” Bruce said, and lead him to where the other survivors where, “Someone’s injured and needed treatment.”

            Steve just nodded and followed from behind. He saw Bucky retire into the corner, leaned his head on the wall and sighed. Steve would thank him properly later. He owed him his life.

            “Everybody,” Bruce announced and the people who were crowded on the side near a makeshift bed moved.

            “Sam!” Steve practically cried when he saw his friend lying on the bed clutching his sides.

            “Steve,” Sam managed a smile.

            Steve immediately went to Sam’s side and went on rambling how he thought Sam was dead and how Sam thought Steve was dead and it was comical, almost hilarious, if not for the situation they were in.

            “What happened to you?” Steve asked.

            “Jumped from the second floor. Got a couple of bruises and cracked ribs,” Bruce answered for Sam. Sam just shrugged like it was nothing.

            “Bruce is a doctor,” Natasha said from behind. She put her hand on his shoulder and led him toward the rest of the group. He left Sam in the hands of Bruce, smiled at his friend and told him to take it easy.

            Natasha introduced him to Maria, a secretary to one of the world’s top weapons industry, and Thor and Loki, brothers and both Fitness Instructors.

            Basically, there were 7 of them; 8 now including him.

            “You should take a rest,” Natasha said. She pointed over to where Bucky was, “You could take my place.”

            “But what about you?” Steve asked.

            Natasha smirked at him and said, “I’m good. I’ll take a rest later,” she looked over at Sam where Bruce was tending to his bruises.

            Steve just nodded and mumbled a low, “Okay,” before heading over to where Bucky was sitting. It was nearing 5am and he felt beyond exhausted. He thought he’d have an asthma attack earlier before they’ve found him. Steve had already pictured his death: he would trip and the zombies would come at him one by one ripping his flesh with their rotting teeth, and then minutes after they’ve feasted on him he would wake up as one of them.

            He sat next to Bucky’s mattress—probably rummaged from the nearby houses. Steve looked over at him. Bucky had his eyes closed but his lips pursed. If Steve had his art materials with him he’d probably sketch Bucky.

            “What,” Bucky muttered, his voice sounded a bit hoarse.

            “Nothing,” Steve towed off his shoes and inched inside the mattress, “Sorry,” he mumbled.

            “Get some sleep,” Bucky said, still not opening his eyes, “You’re gonna need it.”

            Steve had muttered a soft okay before lying slowly on Natasha’s bed. His head landed on her pillow. It was soft and it smelled like shampoo. He looked over at Bucky where he was still sitting, head on the wall, sleeping. Steve then wondered if Bucky always slept like that.

            The light turned off and there was a soft hymn playing on the background. Steve thought it was soothing. He closed his eyes and for the first time in days Steve felt safer. He listened to the song playing, and the soft murmurs of the others, listened to his heartbeat and eventually fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4: Steve

 

Steve woke up to the smell of bacon. It’s been so long since he’d smelled something so mouth watering. Suddenly all those chips and bread he’d been consuming sounded tasteless. He rubbed his eyes, there’s no way of telling what time of the day it was because there were no windows in the underground parking lot. The only opening they had were the entrance and a door leading to the building itself.

            Bucky was manning the makeshift kitchen made up of a single burner stove powered by a small can of gas that could last for hours of cooking. He smiled at him and greeted him when Steve came over. Bucky offered him a plate of food which Steve accepted. For someone who was living in an apocalypse these people were pretty resourceful.

            “Everyone’s outside taking some fresh air,” Bucky told him, “Thought I’d make you something to eat.”

            “Thanks,” Steve said and took a seat next to him.

            “Coffee?” Bucky offered him a cup of coffee.

            Steve took it and placed it on the floor. He took a bite of the bacon and practically moaned. He heard Bucky laugh softly. “Sorry, it’s been a while,” he said.

            “It’s okay,” Bucky smiled, “We still got plenty of supplies,”

            “From raiding?”

            “Yeah,”

            Steve nodded. There were a couple of houses on the way to this place so he thought the group had raided the whole area for necessities.

            “Sam’s fine by the way,” Bucky said, “He’s already making jokes.”

            “Yeah well that’s Sam for you,” Steve said, “Thought he was . . . thought he was dead.”

            “It’s good you get to see each other again,” Bucky squeezed his shoulders and Steve smiled at him.

            “Yeah,”

            They were silent after that. Steve enjoying his food and Bucky just sitting there waiting for something. It felt nice, Steve thought, finding other survivors other than him. It meant that there were more others out there.

            It was nice reuniting with Sam. Steve had thought he’d lost one of his good friends to the chaos but thankfully he thought wrong. Steve looked over at Bucky and wondered if he had lost someone important in the past couple of weeks. He wondered if everyone here had lost someone in the apocalypse.

            Maybe they all do which made Steve frown.

            “What’s wrong?” Bucky ducked to look at him.

            “Nothing,” Steve said, “I was just wondering how you’ve probably lost your family during this.”

            Steve didn’t saw pain and loss in Bucky’s eyes; he saw longing. “I had been an orphan since I was a kid,” Bucky said.

            “Oh,” Steve knew the feeling, knew that look on Bucky’s eyes. He knew how lonely it was to grow up lonely, “I have no family either.” ‘They died when I was young’ was Steve wanted to say but it sounded extra sad and they don’t need that now.

            “Ironically, everyone here doesn’t either,” Bucky said, “So there was less for us to lose.”

\--

After he ate, Bucky and Steve went out to meet with the others. It was already noon when Steve woke but it didn’t seemed like he missed anything that much. It was like Steve had made instant friends and that made him happy. In normal circumstances people wouldn’t even look at him twice let alone take him seriously. The only person who made friends with him and not the other way around was Sam and knowing all these people at once was somehow a gift in the middle of a curse.

            Bucky had announced that he was going on inspection. Natasha and Maria were taking the north, Thor and Loki taking the fences, and Bucky was taking the south. Steve wanted to come, wanted to know what they were inspecting, so he asked Bucky if he could.

            When Bucky gave him a gun Steve stared at it, running his thumbs on the hold, feeling the cold of the metal in his hand. It was the first time Steve had held a gun and it was heavier than he had thought.

            “Do you know how to use one?” Bucky asked.

            “Do I look like I know how to use one?”

            “Not even a knife?”

            Steve shook his head.

            Bucky quirked his eyebrow at him and said, “How the hell did you manage to survive this far?”

            “I dunno,” Steve shrugged, “I never got chased. And you saved me when I did.”

            Bucky huffed but he taught Steve the basics, from the safety to pointing and shooting. After Steve felt like he could use one, and Bucky had given him tips, they went on toward the south.

            It was summer when the outbreak started so it was humid during the afternoons. Steve was wearing a simple white T-shirt and Cargo shorts while Bucky was wearing a black tank top and black pants. Bucky was a lot taller than he was and a lot bigger than him, and Steve kind of felt insecure just standing beside him.

            He watched Bucky as he taught him how to use a gun. Steve tried to focus on the gun handling itself but Bucky’s arms, as it flexed, were much more distracting and much more interesting to watch.

            “What are we inspecting anyway?” Steve asked.

            “The barricades,”

            Bucky had told him about barricading the perimeter when they had brought him here. Although Steve didn’t know how they’ve managed to make a barricade.

            They fell into that comfortable silence while they were walking. They were walking side by side, guns in hands, their arms occasionally brushing and it felt like Steve was closer to Bucky than they should be. The sun was high and it was lighting up everything. It would be a wonderful day, a great day in walking your dog, if it weren’t for the flesh eating zombies.

            Steve noticed the other abandoned buildings, cars with no drivers, blood on the windows, and broken windows. It probably had been chaotic here like it was with the rest of the world. He wondered how many deaths had these buildings witnessed. Then Steve noticed the lack of bodies, normal dead or zombie dead, on the road, nor in any abandoned cars and houses.

            He was wondering how there weren’t any dead bodies anywhere when this was supposed to be the apocalypse and people are expected to die when he saw the answer himself; all 10 foot of it.

            In front of Steve was 10 foot worth of stashed dead bodies—probably this town’s citizens; all placed on top of each other forming a wall. The exits were a bit narrow and it probably took them a couple of dozen dead people to build this rotting wall of flesh. Steve gagged. His stomach wasn’t built for these kinds of horrific and gory things.

            “We’ve noticed that the zombies were only attracted to sound and smell,” Bucky said, “Their eyes are all clouded which only meant that—“

            “They weren’t able to see,” Steve finished, hand covering his mouth, “Is that why you used the bodies as a form to mask your scent?”

            “Yeah,” Bucky nodded, “We’re not proud of all this but it’s what we have to do to survive.”

            No one could be proud of this. Steve thought. It must have taken them quite the stomach and effort in order to build this human fence. “Are the other exits like this?” Steve asked.

            “Only here and at the other end,” Bucky pointed to his right, toward the city, “The right side of the area was already fenced so we only had to put a couple of dead bodies there. We blocked the others with dumpsters and anything we could use like couches, and tables.”

            The smell of the rotting flesh was too much for Steve so he walked a couple of feet back, eyes watering from forcing himself not to vomit. _This is all for survival._ Steve thought. He convinced himself that this, although inhuman as it looked, was all for a good cause—their survival.

            “Let’s go back,” Bucky said and started walking, “Looks like there’s no disturbance here.”

            Steve just followed. The comfortable silence they were sharing earlier gone, all but replaced with horror.


	5. Chapter 5: Bucky

I’m just gonna sit down for a while,” Steve told him. Bucky understood so he let him. He watched Steve’s small body retreat to their camp and Bucky sighed. It was probably too much for him. When Bruce had told them of his observations about the zombies and Loki suggesting to use the bodies of the dead to build a barricade Bucky had been reluctant. He had been reluctant because it was inhuman and disrespectful to the dead.

            “They’re already dead,” Loki had said.

            Eventually after some time alone thinking he had conceded, convinced himself this was for their own sake. It had been a horrifying experience for all of them, carrying dead bodies one by one and stashing them on top of the other. It was gut wrenching and a couple of times or so almost all of them had vomited.

            It did save them though. He remembered what he felt back then when he was carrying a body of a little girl to the barricade they were making. Bucky felt scared and disgusted at himself for even doing this. Steve must have felt the same.

\--

Their days mostly go on like this; bored out of their minds. There was still electricity and the TV they had was still working but there were no more shows airing since the outbreak started. The internet was also cut off and the only means of entertainment they had was a radio with no signal and cards. They were doing cards outside the camp. Bucky was playing with Natasha, Maria, Thor and Loki. Bruce wasn’t much of a cards person and Sam was sleeping in the quarters.

            All the time they were playing, Bucky couldn’t keep his mind away from Steve. He was concerned for the guy and Bucky thought it’s stupid to care for someone you’ve only just met but he did. He really did. He saw something in Steve that soothed the scared feeling constantly clinging on his chest.

\--

It was night time and they’ve all had their dinner. Steve was feeling better when they all came down after the sun set and Bucky was relieved to see the smile on his face. Bucky retreated to his spot next to the wall after and Steve followed. Natasha gave up her spot to Steve so their mattresses are beside each other.

            Steve sat down on his bed and opened a notebook then started doodling. “What are you doing?” Bucky asked.

            “Sketching,” Steve said. He looked focused, his blonde hair covering up his blue eyes, and Bucky can’t do anything but watch. Steve looked peaceful and Bucky thought peaceful wasn’t something you can get in this time but Steve did. “Bruce gave me these earlier, said it would help my mind off things.”

            “What are you, an artist?” Bucky moved to sit beside him gingerly, careful not to cause any disturbance. He peaked through Steve’s hair and Bucky could only see bits and pieces.

            “I’m an art student,” Steve said, still not looking up, “Or I was,” he then looked up and their eyes met.

            It was like getting lost in the middle of the ocean—you can’t do anything but let yourself be dragged by the waves. Bucky had noticed Steve’s blue eyes but never this close. Never this private.

            “Oh,” was all that Bucky could manage. He forced himself to look away from those eyes and caught a glimpse of his face. “Is that me?”

            “Oh, uh, yeah,” Steve ducked and scratched the back of his head, “I like sketching people.”

            “It’s good,” Bucky said and Steve smiled at him. Now he had never seen a sketched picture up close and certainly never a sketched picture of him. Bucky felt kind of giddy just thinking that someone spent time drawing his face.

            “Thanks,” Steve said, “You can have it if you want.”

            Bucky smiled and just shrugged. Steve then ripped the page out of the notebook and gave it to him. He held the paper onto his hands, feeling the smoothness of the page on his skin as he traced his fingers over the blue shades that made up his face.

            “It’s really good.”


	6. Chapter 6: Steve

It had been a couple of days since Steve arrived at the hideout. Everyone was treating him well especially Bucky. Their days go by slow but it becomes less boring when he was with Bucky. They go on inspection every noon or so and every time Steve felt that ache in his chest whenever he sees that wall.

            They had been working on the radio, manning it just in case they got a signal. Maria was positive that somewhere out there in the vastness of chaos and death there lays salvation. They had been trying to reach other radio signals and so far they hadn’t got much luck.

            Most of the time he sketched. Steve just let everyone do their thing and he would just sit on a chair or in a grass and let himself be controlled by his imagination and hands. It was the only time he could escape the reality they were all facing. He’d draw everyone and Steve may not notice it himself but he had dedicated more pages to Bucky than the rest of the group.

            It had been a couple of days and every night Steve had to witness Bucky fall asleep while sitting, head leaned on the wall, guns reachable like any moment there would be zombies busting in and eating them.

            “Do you always sleep like that?” He asked. Steve was lying on his side facing Bucky.

            “Not since all of this started,” Bucky muttered.

            “When I was in the subdivision hiding, I couldn’t sleep properly, too,” Steve said softly, “This was the only time I get to actually close my eyes and not worry about getting eaten.”

            Bucky chuckled; he opened his eyes and looked over at the rest of the group, “I sleep like this because I want to make sure all of you sleep without worry.”

            Steve smiled softly and said, “Well at least let yourself be comfortable from time to time.”

            Bucky looked at him and Steve got to see the tired and scared look in his eyes.

            “Just for tonight let yourself sleep comfortably,” Steve said, “We could combine our mattresses and we could sleep side by side,” he offered. His voice sounded weak and unsure but Bucky smirked at him and then he began moving their mattresses together.

            “Just for tonight,” Bucky said.

            “Just for tonight,” Steve whispered and as Bucky lay slowly beside him he smiled. Their arms almost brushing and Steve remembers those inspection walks they had been doing for the past couple of days where they would walk too closely by each other, occasionally bumping their shoulders together.

            Steve chuckled and Bucky looked at him and asked, “What?”

            “Nothing,” Steve bit his lips and when Bucky raised an eyebrow at him he said, “You’re too stiff.”

            “Shut up,” Bucky frowned but Steve could see the corner of his mouth quirking. He turned his back at Steve and murmured, “Go to sleep.”

            Steve had managed a weak ‘okay,’ taking one last look at Bucky’s muscled back and wondered if Bucky was feeling the same thing as Steve did tonight.


	7. Chapter 7: Bucky

Bucky woke up to innocent blue eyes and a smile. Steve was gently shaking him awake and when Bucky groaned and refused to open his eyes—too comfortable in his position, Steve chuckled. He then remembered being persuaded into lying beside Steve that night then Bucky opened his eyes.

            He was lying like a starfish and occupying both mattresses. “What time is it?” He asked.

            “Almost noon,” Steve answered with a smile.

It had been so long since Bucky felt this comfortable and well rested. He stretched on the bed and groaned happily when his back felt good and his chest felt light.

“C’mon, I made you some breakfast,” Steve patted his legs then walked over to their makeshift kitchen. Bucky didn’t want to get up, wanted to stay in this comfortable state that he was in, but Steve looked so fresh and inviting showered up. “The others are already making rounds so it’s okay if you rest for a little while,” he said.

Bucky slowly stood up and walked over to Steve, rubbing the morning off his eyes, and yawning widely he tears up a bit. Steve laughed when he looked at him. “What?” Bucky mumbled.

Steve pointed to his hair and Bucky frowned. “Bed hair,” Steve said, “Cute.”

“Shut up,” Bucky muttered. He ducked down to fix his hair, “It’s been a long time since I slept like that.”

“I know,” Steve said softly.

Everything seemed to be ten times better the moment Bucky smelt the aroma of coffee. Steve handed him a mug and a plate of food and Bucky ate in silence. Steve was there with him the whole time, sketching like he used to these past couple of days. Bucky had admired Steve, just watching him do his thing, watching his hands as they stroke gently and precisely on each space.

            “Steve?” Bucky started. He wanted to ask if Steve would like to go hangout with him sometime when all of this was over—if all of this was going to be over. Bucky wanted to ask Steve out on a date sometime—if there was a sometime. When Steve looked up at him, all innocent eyes and amused smile, the gun on his holster seemed to have gotten weight and heavier, a painful reminder of their situation right now.

            Bucky was reminded that this was the apocalypse. That mankind was on the brink of extinction and that they had to survive. Suddenly his feelings for Steve felt smaller so he kept his mouth shut. When he noticed that Steve was waiting for him to say something he just said, “If you keep on drawing you’ll run out of paper.”

            Steve looked at his notebook, he seemed disappointed at something, and Bucky felt stupid.

\--

After Bucky ate his food they both went outside with the rest of the group. Thor and Loki were still on their inspection and Sam and Bruce went on in their place while Maria and Natasha were manning the radio.

            They still had nothing to do so they’ve decided to go on a short walk. Bucky and Steve walked slowly side by side making small talks at each other. Sometimes Steve would crack a joke and at times Bucky would. They had fallen into this pattern where both of them would joke around, lightly insult each other, but it was endearing for them. Bucky had never thought he’d meet Steve in an unfortunate event like this but he was thankful—silently thankful for their paths crossing.

            “What’s the first thing you want to do when all of this is over?” Steve playfully asked.

            “You,” Bucky said. Although he didn’t meant to say it out loud so he hurriedly said, “I meant, you first,” he swallowed and mentally kicked himself in the shin but he didn’t missed the light blush on Steve’s cheeks.

            “I’d probably eat pizza,” Steve answered.

            _I’d date you_. Bucky thought and this time he was sure it was just in his head. “Good choice. I’d probably sleep for a whole week.”

            “Really? The whole world is just saved and you’ll just sleep for a week?”

            Bucky shrugged. It seemed like a rewarding thing to do. “You could always join me if you want,” he said.

            “After we eat pizza,” Steve smirked.

            “Sure,” Bucky smiled.

            They laughed. Everything seemed to be lightened when he’s with Steve. He never got to worry about those zombies and all his attention was at Steve’s everything. Making all these small talk and promises at each other made Bucky desire survival even more.

            They resumed their walk, smiles on their faces accompanied by the occasional brushing of their arms and hands and fingers. It was a great day, Bucky thought.

They were just aimlessly walking when they heard a scream followed by a groan from a group of zombies. Bucky heard gunshots and they both looked at each other; the gentle and innocent look on their faces replaced by fear and panic. They grabbed their guns and started running toward the chaos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still working on the next chapters which would be the climax  
> .  
> I'm loosing motivation dammit. 
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading so far.  
> Kudos and Comments are appreciated and if you have any suggestions or prompts or whatever feel free to comment below.


	8. Chapter 8: Bucky

Bucky saw a woman frantically running, and screaming towards them. He gripped his gun tighter and looked over at Steve. Steve’s hands were shaking, beads of sweat almost visible on his forehead. Steve looked at Bucky and he gave Steve the most reassuring look he could muster just to, hopefully, take some of Steve’s fear away.

            The woman cried and following her was a hoard of zombies slowly gaining on her. Bucky started shooting. They all came from the south where the wall of dead bodies was built; where Sam and Bruce were making their daily inspection. He cussed and fired again and one of the zombies fell off the ground.

            “Hold your fire, Steve,” Bucky said, looked over at Steve and his hands were still shaking but nodded at him. It was Steve’s first time handling a gun and he didn’t want to take any chance in case Steve hits the wrong target.

            Bucky fired again but it only hit a zombie on its neck.

            One time, one time he let himself be comfortable and everything went into chaos.

            “Sam and Bruce?” Steve asked, “Where’s Sam and Bruce?”

            He cussed again. It was supposed to be them—him doing the inspections and not them. Bucky refused to think of the worst case scenario but by the way Steve was looking at him, wide eyed and full of panic, says that he was already thinking it.

            “They’re alright,” Bucky said to Steve as he fired shots, “They’re alright,” he said to himself.

            After a couple more shots, Natasha and Maria came rushing to their aid, all armed and already shooting towards the hoard of zombies.

            “How the hell did they get here,” Natasha muttered.

            “I don’t know,” Bucky said and fired another shot. He could practically hear Steve breathing heavily beside him.

            The woman made it over to them and they managed to get rid of the zombies. Bucky immediately went and wrapped Steve on his arms, rubbing his boney shoulders, calming him down. It seemed to have worked a bit because Steve’s breathing slowly evened out.

            “We crashed our van on that—that wall thing back then,” The woman stuttered, wiping her tears and face, “My husband—my husband. They got him,” she cried.

            “Were you bitten?” He heard Natasha asked.

            “What?”

            “Were you bitten?”

            “No,” The woman shook her head, “No I wasn’t. I ran as soon as I saw them take my husband.”

            “There would be others,” Bucky said, “Have you seen two guys back there? They’re our friends.”

            “A—No,” She shook her head again, “I didn’t see anyone.”

            Bucky heard Steve about to say something when they all heard gunshots coming from the same direction. Soon, they saw Sam and Bruce firing rounds as they jogged towards them, a bigger hoard of zombies following them.

            They all started firing. Steve shouted Sam’s name and started firing aimlessly.

            When Sam and Bruce reached them they all ran back towards their camp while firing over at the zombies. Bucky saw more come behind a building and he cussed. This was way worse than he could’ve imagined.

            The zombies were gaining on them fast and Bucky was torn between running faster towards their base and worrying about Steve. Steve was already panting, couldn’t even shoot straight, and was at the back of the pack. Natasha was beside Steve so he felt a little better at that.

            They almost reached their base, a couple of meters more, when a hoard of zombies was hastily groaning their way towards them from the north. Bucky ran faster and started shooting at them.

            Thor and Loki joined them, coming from the fence, and started shooting left and right. Bucky had lost sight of Steve but he couldn’t seem to focus on multiple things despite how well rested he was earlier.

            “Go! Go! Go!” Bucky shouted then he heard a scream; the woman’s scream. He saw her got bitten on the neck by a male zombie, and by the way she was crying and holding the zombie on his shoulders, he figured it must be her husband. Bucky didn’t even get to know her name and she was being eaten alive in front of him.

            _We’re going to be safe. No one’s gonna die. No one will ever die._ Bucky repeated this mantra in his head as he fired shots to the hoard on the north. The rest were slowly filing back inside to the underground parking lot. He saw Loki jogged past him; he just hoped that it was Steve who walked next.

            There was another scream and this time it was a man’s voice, a too familiar male voice. Bucky turned to look at his back and a couple of feet south he saw Steve lying on the ground. A zombie was groaning at Steve, only a couple of inches away from biting him when he saw Thor kick the zombie from the side, shooting it on the head. Bruce helped Steve up and Bucky was supposed to run towards Steve but Natasha pulled him back.

            “Get inside!” Natasha shouted.

            Bucky glared at her then Natasha said, “We’re surrounded,” and they were. Somewhere along the firing and the worrying their group was separated into two. Thor, Bruce and Steve were already running towards the fences in the west, a couple of zombies running after them. He couldn’t do anything but watch Steve’s back getting smaller and smaller.

            He bit the inside of his cheek and gritted his teeth. Bucky couldn’t go after them, not with zombies surrounding them. He wanted to shout, wanted all the zombies dead.

            “Steve!” Bucky shouted, “Steve!”

            Steve must have heard him because Steve looked back.

            “I’ll come after you!” Bucky shouted, “I’ll—I’ll come after you!”

            He saw Steve’s teary smile and a nod, then the back of his head as they run.

            “I promise,” It was almost a whisper, a soft echo in the middle of all the groaning and gunfire. Natasha was pulling him to their camp and he lets her. When they made it all inside, the rest closed the metal gates, and Bucky closed his eyes. The last thing he saw was Steve’s smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. Thanks for reaching this far.  
> I already have an idea of how the fic will flow and I'm writing the next chapters.
> 
> I would re-publish the fic once I finished the whole story. I'm thankful for all the wonderful comments and kudos this story has been receiving although it hasn't reached a lot of readers, yet.


	9. Chapter 9: Steve

****

We’re going to my apartment,” Bruce announced. They have managed to kill and outrun the zombies that were trailing after them, and took refuge on the next town.

            It was Steve’s first time to actually use a gun. It felt heavier than when Bucky was teaching him the basics. The realization that he had hit flesh was something of an experience. When they got separated from the rest of the group—from Bucky, he didn’t know how to survive with zombies following them. Luckily for him, Thor and Bruce knew how to aim well.

            Like the rest of the city, the town was abandoned and was in terrible shape. This used to be the shady part of the city. The three of them walked from corners to corner—with Bruce leading them, wary with their every move, careful not to make any noise.

            “You lived here?” Thor asked.

            “I did,” Bruce answered.

            “But you’re a doctor,”

            This town was known for the poor, their gangster groups, teenage delinquents, drug dealers, prostitutes, you name it this town probably had it.

            “Not every doctor wants a big house and nice cars,” Bruce turned to them and smiled tiredly, “I became a doctor to help the sick. That’s what I did here. Sometimes for free.”

            They stopped in front of a 5 story building and Bruce said, “3rd floor.”

            Steve and Thor followed him inside, making sure there were no zombies lurking first. After they’ve cleared the whole building they took refuge in Bruce’s apartment.

            There were stacks of papers cluttered everywhere; on the table, on the couch, even on top of the TV. It was afternoon and the sun was still high, the light peering through the curtains. Bruce started rummaging through every cupboards and drawers trying to find candles and other essentials that they would need for the night.

\--

Steve watched from the windows as the sun sets in front of him, looking over the array of abandoned buildings and cars, looking over the direction to where the others were—looking over to where Bucky was.

            When they got separated with the group, he saw hoards of zombies surrounding Bucky and the others. Steve wondered if they made it all in the underground parking lot safe.

            He kept repeating the moment where Bucky called his name in the sea of chaos. Steve had felt lost that second he realized they won’t be making it together inside. But he felt a twitch of hope when Bucky promised to go after them—him.

            “What are we gonna do now?” He heard Thor asked. It was already night and they don’t have any food. It was a bit of a blessing that the tap was still working.

            “We wait,” Bruce said, staring blankly at the candle flame, “then figure out where to go.”

            “Are there other places we could go?” Steve asked.

            Bruce sighed and said, “None actually. We couldn’t stay here though.”

            “Bucky said he’ll come for us,” Steve said.

            “I sure hope they do,”

            Steve hoped, too. Now that he had pondered over it, it’s a bit of a risk coming after them. “I believe him,” he said.

            Bruce chuckled and looked at him and said, “You’re really something.”

            “I’m just trying to be positive,”

            “Well we could use a little positive right now,” Thor said from the corner. Bruce smiled at him and so did Steve.

\--

Morning came and Steve woke up to Bruce and Thor counting bullets on the table. He rubbed his eyes awake and joined them. His gun was already on the table together with Bruce’s and Thor’s guns, a military knife, a hand grenade, together with a CD player and speakers.

            “We have a grenade?” Steve croaked.        

            Thor nodded and said, “I kinda forgot. We could’ve used it yesterday.”

            “And the CD player, and speakers?”

            “We’re gonna make a distraction,” Bruce said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading this far!  
> this is a short one and I'm sorry it took this long for me to update this. motivation issues and all.  
> i'm writing the next chapter and hopefully i get it done quickly.
> 
> kudos and comments are appreciated.
> 
> :)


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